Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator on Netflix Review – The Rise and Fall of the Master Manipulator!

A man who applauds himself by saying that he’s the most spiritual person you’ll ever meet in your life, the purest soul, and the divine entity who will change your life forever. “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator” recounts the life of Bikram Choudhury. The self-proclaimed inventor of Hot Yoga, multiple times “Yoga Champion” of India back in the 70s. And the Bad Boy of Yoga, who successfully manipulated a good amount of people, and used his immense power to take control of his students. Bhagwan Rajneesh vibes anyone?

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One of the very first scenes in “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator” showcases Bikram Choudhury recalling the time President Nixon gifted him a green card in favor of helping him with his knee problems. Believe it or not, this is how Bikram fooled everyone around him and his loyal followers during the peak of his career, and we barely scratched the surface. Similar to what we’ve seen in Wild Wild Country, there are multiple red flags throughout this man’s career that are questionable. And this 86-minute documentary shows the rise and fall of his million-dollar empire which at one point of time the hot topic in the world of Yoga.

Director Eva Orner begins the documentary explaining how Bikram’s Yoga techniques and his teachings impacted the lives of his follower’s through interviews and stories. From his humble beginnings in Calcutta, India to his million-dollar, star-studded lifestyle in Beverly Hills, California, his life is briefly exhibited through his follower’s experiences. Which are once again, very positive on the surface level.

His techniques were considered outlandish. The extreme punishment style teachings and using swear words, if necessary, are normalized by his students, and, in turn, made things look very apprehensive for an onlooker. Best described by a guest on the Jimmy Falon show as “just stretching in a hot room.” Bikram’s teachings were not only reveled by his students, but quite a few well-notable movie stars also endorsed his brand inside and out. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows if you take a peek behind the curtain. And Eva Orner does a fantastic job of exposing the other side of this whacky character and how he used to creep on his female followers with no objections from his wife.

As my colleague and Associate Writer of the website – Suhel Abdulla likes to say, “Don’t give in to anything. Not your religion, not your role models. Everyone and everything out there who’s not you have their/its own interests, and they act accordingly.” Which brings me to Bikram Choudhury, and the fact that thousands of people fell for his lies, his charm, and manipulative techniques. The man lived through a myriad of lies in his life. His 26+2 different postures/techniques that he marketed as his own were proved to be his master’s teachings. And the impressive facts that he randomly throws on TV shows were, once again, incorrect. 

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The documentary flawlessly illustrates the message that not everything you see and worship is the truth, and even a sensation like Bikram can be your worst possible nightmare. Overall, “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator” effectively displayed the sinister character behind the man who masqueraded as Yoga’s greatest prodigy. Not denying the fact that his presence and teachings helped a huge amount of people but, it also equally destroyed quite a few of them mentally and emotionally. The documentary further proves the point to use your commonsense and not blindly follow someone despite all the warnings. ‘Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator’ is now steaming on Netflix.

Rating – 3/5 | Grade – B

Images via Netflix

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